Fantasy Barbarians and more, I guess

[Mike]

This figure is turning out fairly well.

Completed build:

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

In primer:

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

And in mostly green lol:

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I'm going to let it rest overnight and let the paint layers dry before I move on to washes and detailing.

[handiabled]

Very realistic looking flesh tones on this guy.

[Mike]

Apr 15, 2024 9:03:12 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Very realistic looking flesh tones on this guy.

Thank you. I thought they've all been realistic lol. But I think it's my poor abilities for lighting and picture quality. 

Here's the final on ol' Biff here. I did end up removing the sidearm because I was informed that in this time period if he even had a sidearm at all it would be the shoulder mounted holster and not the hip holster, and even if it was it would be on a web belt that would be removed if ol' Biff here was in the tank anyways. So therefore, no sidearm.


Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

He's all ready to mount his M1 Abrams and ride off into the sunset now.

[Mike]

Just a couple of last minute changes this afternoon because Dad insisted, lol.

Biff Tankerman by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Now he's correctly dressed.

[Mike]

Next figure up is a Fantasy Vampire. Not sure if she's supposed to be some sort of priestess or a minor queen, but here we go.

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I started with the face and it took a bit of time to figure out what was wrong with the sculpt. SHe has a sort of Phantom of the Opera thing going for her. So half flesh and half bone. Since she's a Vampire I went with the dark theme except for the gown which I've used oils to try and get a gossamer effect out of. I'm not sure if that's working or not, you guys can tell me.

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Vampire by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I've just added a matte layer so I'm not sure how much farther I'll go from here today. Thoughts and opinions are very much welcome with this one. It's going to be a gift.

[Steve Zuleski]

These are all looking good, Mike!

[Mike]

I've been out of it for a while again and I know this isn't the right place for it, but I didn't want to open a separate thread just for this.

Happy little trees by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

But I made Pine trees! Super happy about it lol!

[handiabled]

They look great! How did you go about crafting them?

[Mike]

May 12, 2024 3:19:37 GMT -5 handiabled said:

They look great! How did you go about crafting them?

I think I saved the video that this video references on a phone the got reset because I can't find it now. However, this video shows the basic "loop" technique I used for these trees.

youtu.be/U-9P0ZKGmuU?si=hMleB-AVPPDTab9a

I really had to get inventive with my materials because I don't have the recommended stuff, such as I had to splice tooth picks together with 2P10 for my trunks and I used twisted wire scavenged from an old power supply for branches. It's a lot easier than I thought to make these and I want to make more, and larger trees now. I need to gather the correct materials though.

[Steve Zuleski]

Those trees look pretty good, Mike.

[Mike]

May 21, 2024 10:50:05 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Those trees look pretty good, Mike.

Thank you. They really did the trick on my diorama to bring my vision to completion.

[406 Silverado]

+1 Karma to you Mike for posting that video up. Despite not having everything on hand, your trees turned out pretty dang good. 

[Mike]

It's amazing how far you can sometimes get when you're in a good mood. Well here's another one I can scratch off of my modelling bucket list. I've actually replicated U.S. Woodland Camouflage! I really wish there were more options from this time period besides Tamiya. Of course I started with a lot of undercutting and shape definition. The arms came from the spares box and I used some Milliput to beef up the rolled up portions of the sleeves. Other than that it's a stock figure with a Dragon set of goggles. I'll add the Mic and the elastic band for the goggles after I get the details sorted out. Adding them too soon caused a few irritations last time so this time I'll wait.

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I've got him glossed for a wash so I can define the "borders" without muddling up the camo. I'm going for a clean look like the last figure.

[handiabled]

Fantastic paint work on this! The camo pattern looks outstanding!

[Mike]

Thank you. I spent a little more time refining the pattern a little bit. Like everything else I've done it looks a bit off to me for some reason. However, it's not bad considering how quickly I knocked this one out.

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I've got the goggle straps and Mic attached and the blocking is clean so I'm finished with it for now.

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

U. S. Tanker by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Well, onto the next I suppose.

[406 Silverado]

Jeez Mike!! I only hope I can do half that good when I get around to trying out the whole figure painting gig. My hat goes off to you for a job well done on that camo uniform.

[handiabled]

It looks great from here! We are always our worst critic but I think the figure really did turn out fantastic

[Mike]

May 29, 2024 16:29:25 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Jeez Mike!! I only hope I can do half that good when I get around to trying out the whole figure painting gig. My hat goes off to you for a job well done on that camo uniform.

When you start thinking of figures as just another accessory to the tank it becomes a bit easier. It's just another piece to be painted, and I know that sounds a bit cavalier, but that was the mental change I made that made the difference. Attitude, I guess.

[406 Silverado]

May 30, 2024 7:21:59 GMT -5 Mike said:

May 29, 2024 16:29:25 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Jeez Mike!! I only hope I can do half that good when I get around to trying out the whole figure painting gig. My hat goes off to you for a job well done on that camo uniform.

When you start thinking of figures as just another accessory to the tank it becomes a bit easier. It's just another piece to be painted, and I know that sounds a bit cavalier, but that was the mental change I made that made the difference. Attitude, I guess.

 That sounds like a good idea on the mental state Mike. I may have to adopt that approach. 

[Mike]

May 30, 2024 2:59:02 GMT -5 handiabled said:

It looks great from here! We are always our worst critic but I think the figure really did turn out fantastic

I m definitely my own worst critic.

[Mike]

May 30, 2024 7:27:32 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

May 30, 2024 7:21:59 GMT -5 Mike said:

When you start thinking of figures as just another accessory to the tank it becomes a bit easier. It's just another piece to be painted, and I know that sounds a bit cavalier, but that was the mental change I made that made the difference. Attitude, I guess.

 That sounds like a good idea on the mental state Mike. I may have to adopt that approach. 

It worked for me. I don't know if that will work for anyone else, but that was my approach.

I've figured out a few of my own shortcuts out of the countless ways you can paint a figure and I've grown used to it. For that last figure I used a medium flesh tone as a base, dotted the eyes with a toothpick and black paint, lightened the medium tone a bit for highlights and blended it in with a flesh wash and glaze. All acrylic. No fuss, no muss. I've done better, but that's the quick method and it does the job.

[Mike]

New, larger tree. by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

New, larger tree by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I've got the proper supplies for larger trees now.

[handiabled]

The trees look excellent! How is the sub coming along?

[Mike]

Jun 2, 2024 3:39:48 GMT -5 handiabled said:

The trees look excellent! How is the sub coming along?

The sub is still needing some paint, but otherwise just resting. I'd have had it finished if it were not for all of the other distractions I find myself vulnerable to lol.

[Mike]

I found a new use for some tobacco dust from the bottoms of my spent bags (of tobacco)

Tree Bark by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Am I barking up the wrong tree? lol, I couldn't resist. Forgive me.

[handiabled]

It certainly has the same looking texture as a pine tree.

[406 Silverado]

Jun 4, 2024 0:48:57 GMT -5 Mike said:

I found a new use for some tobacco dust from the bottoms of my spent bags (of tobacco)

Tree Bark by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Am I barking up the wrong tree? lol, I couldn't resist. Forgive me.

   That's a great use of resources on that tree Mike. I would have never thought up that tobacco dust idea. Beautiful work. 

Barking up the wrong tree........

[Steve Zuleski]

Excellent addition, great use of whatever is handy, and it looks really good from here!